Oxford, MS

[tennreb]

After being away for a few years, I'll be back in Oxford next week for four days, and I'm looking for some good places to eat. I will definitely go to Taylor Grocery and Big Bad Breakfast, but I need an upscale place for dinner. Is Yocona in Exile good? I haven't been since the old place burned, but I used to love the Yocona filet. Other suggestions?

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Taylor Grocery & Restaurant
4-A County Rd 338, Oxford, MS 38655

Big Bad Breakfast
719 N Lamar Blvd, Oxford, MS 38655

[Littleman]

Tenn Reb........You must be going to the OM/Auburn FB game. If you are then John Currence's City Grocery will be booked Friday night. You might get in Thursday night if you are in town then. Where are you staying. Hotels have been booked solid since June or July. Call CG and ask for Jim Weems. If he's not in ask for Lauren. Tell one of them Henry McCaslin suggested you call and they will help you. Currence was James Beard SE Chef OTY last year and owns Big Bad Breakfast. He has a Snack Shop next door for raw oysters and sandwiches.

Taylor Grocery is OK not great. It's BYOB and they don't take reservations. Be prepared to wait. The last person I know that went there said he would never go back. I think there are better choices in town. Yocona is fine but I would stay in town if it were me. Driving to Taylor is bad enough. Watch out for Oxford PD. Driving and drinking is serious in that town. If I had to choose I would go to Yocona before I went to Taylor.

BTW you could get lunch reservations at CG on Saturday without a problem as everyone will be in the Grove eating. Lenora's is a new place where L & M used to be just N of the Square. It's open on Sunday. Ravine is a fine dining choice about 5 miles S of Oxford off S Lamar out past the hospital. They are also open on Sunday. Doe's closed and Prime is a steakhouse in it's place in the Downtown Inn. Rooster's is a new joint on the Square next to Downtown Grill on the corner with music, cold drinks and bar food. 208 and Waltz are both fine dining on the Square. I place CG way above each but they would be a good choice if you can get in and you can't get in CG.

When did you go to OM. I see you are from Charleston. I love Charleston Grill, Peninsula Grill, McCrady's, Magnolia's and High Cotton. Let me know if I can help you further.

City Grocery @ 152 Courthouse Square, Oxford, MS. 662 - 232 - 8080.
http://www.citygroceryonline.com/
Lenora's Restaurant @ 301 C North Lamar Blvd., Oxford, MS 662 - 236 - 1144.
http://www.lenorasdining.com/
Prime Steakhouse @ 1201 Jefferson Ave., Oxford, MS 662 - 238 - 7750.
http://www.oxfordprime.com/
Ravine @ 53 County Rd. 321, Oxford, MS 662 - 234 - 4555.
http://www.oxfordravine.com/
Rooster's Blue's House @ 114 Court House Square, Oxford, MS 662 - 236 - 7970.
http://roostersblueshouse.com/
Snack Bar @ 721 N Lamar Blvd., Oxford, MS 662 - 236 - 6363.
http://citygroceryonline.com/restaurant.php?snackbar
Taylor Grocery and Restaurant @ Old Taylor Rd., Taylor, MS. 662 - 236 - 1716.
http://www.taylorgrocery.com/
Two Zero Eight @ 208 South Lamar Boulevard, Oxford, MS 662 - 234 - 0005.
Waltz On The Square @ 1110 Van Buren Ave., Oxford, MS. 662 - 236 - 2760.
http://www.waltzonthesquare.com/
Yocona River Inn @ 842 Highway 334, Oxford, MS 662 - 234 - 2464.
http://www.yocona.com/

[tennreb]

Thanks for the updates. Thursday I'm flying into Memphis and will hit up either Payne's or Cozy Corner before driving down to Oxford. I'll be going to Taylor Grocery on Friday night. I love the experience more than the food, especially when it involves the 2 hour tailgate. Thursday I want something better. I thought about CG, but it is so similar to many of the great restaurants I eat at in Charleston all the time. We can get great steak in Charleston too. I was thinking of Yocona for Thursday night because it is a little different than the Charleston restaurants but not sure if it is still good since it moved. Friday morning I'll be pigging out at BBB, so I'll probably skip lunch on Friday. I thought about Snack Bar for Thursday night as well, but a friend from Charleston is coming with me, and I'd hate to take him to a strip mall twice in one trip (since we are going to BBB). Saturday will be all about tailgating. Again, thanks for the help.

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Taylor Grocery & Restaurant
4-A County Rd 338, Oxford, MS 38655

[tennreb]

Trip Report:

I flew into Memphis, picked up the car, and headed straight to Payne's BBQ on Lamar. The atmosphere is really terrible there (at least they could get a jukebox), but the bbq sandwich is the best that is made anywhere. My companion, a Charlestonian, was taken aback by the 1970s standard apartment range where the pot of sauce sat. The chop-chop-chop echoing through that concrete building while you eat is sort of erie, but those crunchy bits of chopped-to-order shoulder are probably the best thing you could ever put in your mouth.

Next we drove to Oxford, checked into the Inn at Ole Miss, and walked to the Square for our reservations at City Grocery. The Mannings were seated right next to us, reminding me of my college days. Not one person approached them. First course was pumpkin soup. It was good as pumpkin soup could be. Nothing mind-blowing, but great. Next was the fried pimento cheese salad. The cake of fried pimento cheese was sublime. Why didn't I ever think of this? There was a poached egg on the salad as well, which was good but was a little out of sync. Next was the Tennessee foie gras on little biscuits. Excellent foie gras, though I am not a connoisseur. My dish was the Florida line-caught redfish soaked in buttermilk over Carolina Gold rice. This might have been the best piece of fish I have ever had. Despite the buttermilk, the flavor of the fish shone through. City Grocery might just be the best restaurant in the South, and that is saying something considering I live in Charleston and frequent New Orleans.

Breakfast the next morning was the Big Bad Breakfast at its namesake. House-smoked bacon loaded with flavor. Grits perfectly creamy. Egg substitute so well seasoned you could barely tell they weren't real scrambled eggs. Biscuit, which appears to be made of corn flour, was excellent. My favorite part of the dish were the gravies. Red Eye gravy was like crack. The tomato gravy, rarely seen anywhere, was amazing.

Couldn't eat lunch after that. Dinner was at Taylor Grocery, which was everything I remembered it to be. The atmosphere was excellent and worth the two hour wait. As soon as I walked in the door, the waitress who hasn't waited on me in two years gave me a hug and still knew my name. Where else than Oxford do college students build relationships like this? My Charleston friend was in a state of awe the entire evening.

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City Grocery
152 Courthouse Sq, Oxford, MS 38655

Taylor Grocery & Restaurant
4-A County Rd 338, Oxford, MS 38655

Big Bad Breakfast
719 N Lamar Blvd, Oxford, MS 38655

[Littleman]

You need to check out Sean Brock's new Restaurant Husk in Charleston that opened just recently. Tell me what you think.

Husk Restaurant @ 76 Queen Street, Charleston, SC 843 - 577 - 2500.
http://www.huskrestaurant.com/